Lincolnview Bd. OKs building contract

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

After months of planning and a long delay caused by COVID-19, Lincolnview officials are moving ahead with plans for a classroom addition project.

During Wednesday night’s school board meeting, board members approved a $3.6 million construction contract with Van Wert-based Alexander & Bebout Inc. to build a special education suite with two classrooms at the elementary school, while converting the old library into a kindergarten classroom. The firm was one of three companies that bid on the project.

“It’s really exciting to see the opportunity our kids and teachers are going to get,” Superintendent Jeff Snyder said. “We’re going to get a good amount of square footage. It’s been a long time coming and it’s going to be a huge addition to Lincolnview schools.”

Plans also call for a new elementary office and other enhancements and a more secure entrance to the building, but that part of the project will be bid out later. The project will cost more than hoped, leading to one “no” vote, which was cast by board member Brad Coil.

“Of course you always want the bids to be under what your architects put out there but at this point it was about $300,000 over,” Snyder said after the meeting.

He explained one of the reasons for the increase is the fact that a suppression line will need to be installed all the way to the new addition, which will require extensive labor. Snyder also said he’ll have a project timeline at next month’s school board meeting, but he added construction most likely won’t be complete until spring of 2024.

During his regular report, the superintendent said the district’s new free breakfast program is going well and he said he’s working with two companies on potentially adding lights at the soccer field and track, and should have more information in February. He also reminded the board that a planned two-hour delay will take place this Friday.

Snyder later presented each board member with a certificate in honor of School Board Recognition Month.

Lincolnview Elementary Principal Nita Meyer told the board that gifted identification testing will take place next week for grades 1, 2, 4 and 5 and she noted a Red Cross blood drive is scheduled from 1-5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 26, at the Community Center.

Junior High/High School Principal Brad Mendenhall congratulated seventh grade spelling bee winner Logan Taylor and eighth grade champion Zack Newell. Both will represent Lincolnview at the County Spelling Bee at 3 p.m. Sunday, February 5, at the Marsh Foundation.

In personnel matters, the board approved personal service contracts with Keli Ralson, seventh grade baseball coach; Shawn Hovlid, eighth grade baseball coach, and Chris Hughes, junior high softball coach. Al Arnold, Jeff Jacomet and Grey Byrum were approved as volunteer track coaches.

In other business, the board approved a Washington D.C./Gettysburg, Pennsylvania trip for sixth and seventh graders September 11-15 through Prodigy Student Travel, and board members accepted an anonymous $500 donation for student breakfast and lunch extras.

During the annual organizational meeting held prior to the regular meeting, Eric Germann was elected as 2023 board president by a 3-2 vote. Coil and Mark Zielke voted no, after a motion to nominate Zielke died due to a lack of a second. Ziekle was then nominated as board vice president and got it with a 3-2 vote, but then declined the appointment after he and Coil voted against it.

The board set compensation at $125 per meeting in 2023 and set meeting dates for 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.

The next meeting of the Lincolnview Local Schools Board of Education will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 15, in the Neubrecht Lecture Hall.